Can't I Even Dream?
by xSummerSan
Summary: Ellis leaves the CEDA quarantine camp weeks after Nick had been left behind by the chopper back in New Orleans. He desperately fights his way through hordes of infected to find his lover, but when he finally discovers him, was it really worth all of the fight? Based off of "Can't I Even Dream?" by Rockleetist.


_**Desperate and so lonely, I've looked for you.  
And left behind all that I had ever longed for.**_

Ellis panted, his shotgun slung over a broad shoulder, his old, worn work boots making soft squelching noises against the muddy ground. He still couldn't get that lingering image out of his head from weeks ago. Or was it months?

_The young hick ran, screaming Rochelle and Coach's names with Nick trailing clumsily behind him, both of them clutching the wounds that had blossomed on their skin. The chopper had already arrived and they were /so damn close/ to the landing pad. What Ellis didn't realize was that Nick had fallen before he was able to get on the chopper. Ellis screamed as the chopper slowly rose up, leaving Nick kneeling, his eyes wide, on the landing pad. _

"_ELLIS!" _

_**Cold winds scream through my ears like a banshee.  
A freezing chill- A pain that still will forever haunt me.**_

That was the voice that Ellis had grown to love, the voice that had brought him hope. Now he was gone, and that scream would scar him forever.

Weeks later in the quarantine camp, Ellis was unable to sleep. He couldn't get that fucking image of Nick out of his head, collapsed on the landing pad, screaming for help. That night, he had run away. Technically, drove away. Ellis had pushed himself out of the bed and tiptoed out of the camp, sliding into one of the evac vehicles and driving the hell away from there, looking desperately for Nick as he trailed back to New Orleans.

Now the boy was all alone, equipped with an adrenaline shot, a magnum pistol, and a chrome shotgun; all of which he had swiped from empty safe rooms. Rain pelted down on him like an avalanche from the sky, wetting his clothes and making his usually soft curls stick to him.

_**Yet I have made it here  
Running through all the fear.  
The sadness in my heart retains the pain.  
And if I fall, I've learned  
That I may not return.  
None of my love remains.**_

Ellis knew that if he died on the trip there and turned, none of the love he still held for Nick would remain. The lingering question that the boy was unable to answer was if Nick was still alive or not. Honestly, Ellis couldn't care less—he wanted to at least find his body. Finally, on this day, he arrived back to New Orleans near the destroyed bridge. Crumbled pieces floated in the water, which Ellis had swam between, despite how damn cold it was. He wasn't alone.

Slowly, a figure came into his vision. It was hunched over and sobbing into its claws.

Wait… claws?

Witch.

_**Yet I have made it here.  
Make this pain disappear.  
My one and only, Prince Charming.  
And still I wonder, why can't I even dream?**_

There was something that kept him from creeping past, something that kept him glued to the stone the witch shared with him. The male zombie wore a tattered dress shirt and pants that were torn all the way up to his knees, and there were distinctive rings on his reddened claws. The witch's head swooped around and, eyes orange and feral, differing from the emerald green they used to be, met Ellis's gaze. The male infected let out a choked sob, trembling as if it was fighting itself, sidled over to Ellis and looked up at him.

The country boy gasped softly before leaning down, bringing the witch's face up.

"Nick…?"

_**Tears fall like a rainstorm I barely see.  
A twisted grin broken within. Am I going crazy?**_

Before the boy knew it, hot tears were spilling out of the corners of his blue eyes. "Nick… no… what the hell happened to you?"

Was he going insane, or was he really seeing this?

_**Yet I have made it here  
Bearing this love, my dear.  
Bearing the weight of it upon my knees.  
And if I scream your name  
It's not returned in same  
I beg, forget me please.**_

Ellis screamed Nick's name, throwing his arms around Nick's neck, embracing him as if his life depended on it. He said the man's name over and over, as if he could return the man's memories. His shotgun fell from its position, clattering onto the discarded stone. Yet it was hopeless… Nick was gone; this was just his empty, once-human shell.

_**Yet I have made it here.  
Make this pain disappear.  
My one and only, Prince Charming.**_

"Nick… please, are you in there?! NIIIIICK!" Ellis screeched, the tears flowing full-blast by now. He cried out and, with a trembling hand, took the shotgun in his hand, pressing the end of it to Nick's temple. The zombie sighed, closing its eyes as if accepting its fate, and lifted up a clawed hand, stroking the boy's cheek.

_BANG._

_**And still I wonder, why can't I even dream?**_

It was over. For him and for Nick. For them. The zombie let out one last scream and fell to the ground, limp and very dead. Ellis choked back another sob and brought the body into his arms, one side of its head completely destroyed by the shotgun. Blood was being smeared on Ellis's cheek, but he hardly cared. He would be joining his lover soon.

With a small smile, he took out his magnum and lifted it to his temple, closing his eyes.

"I'll see you soon, Nick…"

_**And still I wonder, why can't I even dream?**_


End file.
